Employees of the city of Salisbury and Clark's Environmental Service pump sewage out of a manhole at the corner of Ridge Road and Riverside Drive on Wednesday.

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A pump station malfunction that spewed about 100,000 gallons of sewage into the Wicomico River could cost the city thousands of dollars in state fines unless officials can prove it was beyond its control.

Any fine, which could range up to $32,500 for the one day of overflow, would add further insult to an already mucky situation. Tuesday's burbling waste triggered swimming and fishing advisories for a portion of the river and swamped the well-kept neighborhood around the station with a small regiment of workers and tanker trucks.